Mark Williams to Star in Dargaville Celebrations
Tuesday 8 July 2008, 5:28PM
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Dargaville’s own pop icon, Mark Williams, is coming home for a spectacular concert on Friday 26 September to star in a weekend of celebration marking 100 years since the establishment of the first Dargaville Borough Council.
The star, who grew up here and has produced chart-toppers like Yesterday Was Just the Beginning of My Life, and Show no Mercy, will be appearing with the Sydney based veteran Kiwi rock band, Dragon, for whom he has been lead singer since 2005.
Tickets for the concert in the Northern Wairoa Memorial Hall will cost $35.50. Tickets are limited and will be on sale from Monday 25 August at Noise Co in Dargaville and also at McCoy and Thomas Sports Hunting and Fishing outlets in Northland.
“This is not a tribute band it’s the real Mark Williams and the real Dragon” says Kaipara’s Community Development Facilitator Heidi Dreyer. “It is an extraordinary opportunity to see our own Mark Williams in his home town with one of New Zealand’s best loved bands.”
She says interest is already high. “Everyone knows Mark Williams and people can’t wait for the tickets to go on sale”.
“And Mark is very excited about performing back in his home town. He has gone out of his way to make this happen.”
Mark Williams began his career as a 16 year-old by forming a band, The Face, with a group of fellow Dargaville High School students. They won Northland’s 1971 Battle of the Bands and went on to third place in the national finals.
Television exposure on the Free Ride show helped launch his solo career and Mark’s first single in 1975, Yesterday Was Just the Beginning of My Life, topped New Zealand’s charts for three weeks. His debut album, Mark Williams, became New Zealand’s best selling pop/rock album of the seventies.
Two years later the single, It Doesn’t matter Any More went to number one on the charts. The singer moved to Australia in 1978, where he has made three albums. Possibly his best known work is the platinum single, Show No Mercy, chosen to launch the 1990 Rugby League Grand Final and still used as a motivational anthem.
In 2005 he became lead singer with Dragon which has produced hits like April Sun in Cuba, Rain, Are You Old Enough, This Time and Dreams of Ordinary Men.
Mark Williams’ concert, which is being underwritten by the Kumara Box and ACM Insurance Group, is a highlight in exciting three day celebration of the formation of the Dargaville Borough Council in 1908.
Other features include a flea market and trolley derby on the Friday.
Saturday has sports events at the Dargaville High School in the morning and a swept up Celebration Ball at night, while Sunday’s programme includes a variety concert which promises something for everyone.